Republic of Macedonia
"Macedonia" redirects here. For other uses, see Macedonia (disambiguation). |languages= |demonym= Macedonian |currency= Macedonian denar |estab1name= Declared independence |estab1time= September 8, 1991 |estab2name= Independence recognized |estab2time= April 8, 1993 |GDP-PPP-total= $22.147 billion (2012) |GDP-PPP-pc= $10,718 (2012) |GDP-nomin-total= $10.198 billion (2012) |GDP-nomin-pc= $4935 (2012) }} Macedonia ( : Македонија), officially known as the Republic of Macedonia (Macedonian: Република Македонија; Republika Makedonija), is a country located in the in . It is one of the five states that emerged following the dissolution of Yugoslavia in 1992. The country was admitted to the United Nations under the provisional reference of the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia (abbreviated as FYROM) in 1993. It is bordered by Serbia to the north, Bulgaria to the east, Greece to the south, Albania to the west, and KosovoKosovo is the subject of a territorial dispute between the Republic of Serbia and the self-proclaimed Republic of Kosovo. The latter declared its independence on 17 February 2008, but is not fully recognized. to the northwest. History Human habitation in the region of is believed to date back to the period, but the earliest known settlements are believed to have been established during the early era. During antiquity, most of what is now the Republic of Macedonia was inhabited by the Paeonians, Dardanis, , , and . absorbed the regions of (owned by the Lynkestis and Pelagones) and southern Paeonia into his Kingdom of Macedonia (also known as Macedon) circa 356 BC. His son and successor, , then conquered the remainder of the region and incorporated into the empire, reaching as far north as . The Roman Republic annexed the region of Macedonia in 146 BC after a against the Kingdom of Macedon, establishing a province on the territory. Macedonia was passed to the Eastern Roman Empire (later the Byzantine Empire) in 395. It remained Byzantine territory until portions of the region of Macedonia were incorporated into the First Bulgarian Empire in 837 AD, and what is now the Republic of Macedonia eventually became the political and cultural heartland of the empire in the 10th century after the Byzantines conquered the eastern portion of the Bulgarian state during the . From the 12th century, portions of Macedonia were conquered by the Serbian kingdom of Raška. The territory of Macedonia was later disputed among the , Latin crusaders from the Kingdom of Thessalonica, and the Second Bulgarian Empire. A majority of what is now the Republic of Macedonia was acquired by the Bulgarians once more until the Byzantine Empire reclaimed the territory after 1261. Macedonia remained a Byzantine possession until it was gained by the Serbian Empire during the reign of . The lands of the empire were divided after the deaths of Emperor and feudal lord at the in 1371, and the territory of the Republic of Macedonia became ruled by Vukašin's son, . It was then incorporated into the Ottoman Empire in 1395 after Marko's death at the . The region was Ottoman territory until it was captured by Serbia during the in 1912. Following , the Kingdom of Serbia joined the newly founded Kingdom of Serbs, Croats, and Slovenes. In 1929, the kingdom was officially renamed the Kingdom of Yugoslavia and was divided into nine . The had as its capital and included what would eventually become the Republic of Macedonia and portions of modern-day Serbia. After , Yugoslavia was reconstituted as a federal state under the leadership of and his . The Vardar Banovina was then formed into Democratic Macedonia, which later became known as the People's Republic of Macedonia in 1945 and the in 1963. In 1990 the form of government peacefully changed from a socialist state to a . The first multiparty elections were held that year and became the first democratically elected president of the Republic of Macedonia in 1991. On June 7, 1991, the name "Republic of Macedonia" was officially established and the country formally declared its independence on September 25 of the same year. Its independence was later recognized by the United Nations in 1993. The nation is currently a parliamentary republic led by and . Economy The Republic of Macedonia currently uses the denar, which is issued and regulated by the National Bank of the Republic of Macedonia (Macedonian: Народна банка на Република Македонија; Narodna Banka na Republika Makedonija). Having been ranked as the fourth "best reformatory state" out of 178 nations evaluated by the World Bank in 2009, the Republic of Macedonia has undergone significant economic reform since its independence from Yugoslavia in 1991. The country currently has an open economy with trade making up more than 90% of GDP. Macedonia has experienced a steady, albeit somewhat slow, economic growth, with GDP growing by 3.1% in 2005. This number was expected to increase to an average of 5.2% between the years 2006 and 2010. The of Macedonia has had much success in its effort to combat inflation, with an inflation rate of only 3% in 2006 and 2% in 2007, and has put policies into place centered on attracting foreign investment and promoting the development of small and medium-sized businesses. The Macedonian Government introduced a flat tax system with the intent of making the county more attractive to foreign investors. The rate was 12% in 2007 and lowered to 10% in 2008. In spite of these several reforms, as of 2005 the unemployment rate in Macedonia was 37.2%, and as of 2006 its poverty rate was 22%. Macedonia contains a large number of citizens who are struggling financially, with 72% of its residents declaring that they could only manage their household's income "with difficulty" or "with great difficulty", even though the country, along with Croatia, was the only country in the Western Balkans to not report an increase in this statistic. Other significant holdbacks on successful economic development in Macedonia are corruption and a somewhat ineffective legal system. Macedonia still has one of the lowest per capita GDPs in Europe. Furthermore, the nation's gray market is estimated to comprise about 20% of its GDP. As of 2005, the service sector of Macedonia constituted the largest portion of the nation's GDP at 57.1%, an increase from the 54.2% from 2000. The industrial sector makes up 29.3% of the GDP, down from the 33.7% in 2000, while agriculture only represents 12.9%, up from 12%. Textiles make up the most prominent sector of trade, accounting for more than half of total exports. Other important exports including iron, steel, , and . According to data provided by Eurostat, the Macedonian PPS GDP per capita stood at 36% of the European Union average in 2011. Trade and investment The of the 1990s and the infliction of sanctions on Serbia and Montenegro caused significant damage to the economy of the Republic of Macedonia, with Serbia establishing nearly 60% of its markets before Yugoslavia's disintegration. The nation's economy was also negatively affected when Greece imposed an embargo on it from 1994 to 1995 over the . Some relief was given by the end of the in November 1995 and the lifting of the Greek embargo, but the of 1999 and the Albanian crisis of 2001 caused further destabilization to the nation's economy. Since the Greek embargo was lifted in 1995, Greece has become one of Macedonia's most important business partners. Many Greek companies have purchased former state companies in the republic, such as the , the baking company Zhito Luks, a marble mine in , textile facilities in , et cetera, and employ about 20,000 people. Other major foreign investors in Macedonia include Austria, Germany, Italy, Slovenia, Turkey, and the United States. Tourism Tourism is an important part of Macedonia's economy. The nation's large abundance of both natural and cultural attractions make it a common destination for visitors. It receives about 700,000 tourists each year. Numismatics The Republic of Macedonia has a rich numismatic history that may have started sometime during the reign of (602 to 576 BC) with the issuance of coins bearing the name of the location they were minted, but not the ruler who issued them. It was not until the regnancy of King when Macedonian coins began including the names of their rulers. Paeonia began circulating its own coins during the reign of , and continued producing coins until the end of the kingdom during 's reign. The Kingdom of Macedonia issued its coins until it was defeated by the Roman Republic at the end of the Fourth Macedonian War. As a province of Rome, Macedonia issued its own coins from its time as a province of the Roman Republic to the reign of Emperor . Standard Roman and Byzantine coins then began to circulate in the Macedonian region, even while portions of it were owned by the First Bulgarian Empire, which did not issue its own currency. The Serbian Empire introduced its perper currency after it acquired Macedonia from the Byzantines. After the disestablishment of the empire, a handful of coins were struck by the Lordship of Prilep, which encompassed much of what is now Macedonia, under Marko and , but the coins struck during the reigns of Kings Vukašin and Stephen Uroš V continued to be actively used in the territory. Ottoman currency eventually began circulating in Macedonia, and the territory continued to use such currency until 1912. After capturing Macedonia from the Ottoman Empire in 1912, the Kingdom of Serbia introduced the Serbian dinar to the region. After World War I, when Serbia joined the newly established Kingdom of Serbs, Croats, and Slovenes (later the Kingdom of Yugoslavia), a new dinar, which also circulated alongside a krone currency for some time, became issued in Macedonia. This currency remained in circulation until the invasion of Yugoslavia during World War II. During this time, the Kingdom of Bulgaria occupied much of Macedonia, and its currency, the lev, was circulated in the area. The region was then placed under the control of Germany in 1944, during which the Reichsmark was issued in Macedonia. The Yugoslav dinar was reintroduced in the reconstituted federal state of Yugoslavia in 1944. It remained the currency of the state until a new revalued dinar was introduced, replacing the old dinar at a rate of 100 to 1. A second revaluation of the Yugoslav currency took place in 1990, making 1 new dinar equal to 10,000 old dinars. The first Macedonian denar was introduced on April 26, 1992, replacing the 1990 version of the Yugoslav dinar at par. It was reformed on May 5, 1993, with one new denar equal to 100 old denars. }} See also *Vevčani Republic Notes and references * * * Macedonia Macedonia Category:Republic of Macedonia